There is no communications challenge quite as unique as a live sporting event.
Mixing the highs and lows of sport with a live broadcast and a room full of journalists can open the door to bad publicity if not managed well.
While a business might not find itself in an unpredictable situation quite as often as the live sports arena, there are three lessons that live sport can teach business communications professionals when it comes to managing reputation:
1. You can’t hide when crisis strikes
Much like when your star player goes down with a season-ending injury mid-game, when crisis strikes, there is no hiding it from the media.
If the groan from the crowd didn’t alert the media, the support staff helping the player off field certainly did, and the slow-motion replay is already on social media.
Journalists have already picked up the phone to ask for the diagnosis, the sideline reporter has their eyes glued to the bench waiting for an assessment, and the cameras are waiting to catch a glimpse of any signs of disaster.
You and your star player are not going to be able to pretend this didn’t happen.
While a crisis in the professional or business arena might attract differing levels of media scrutiny depending on the issue at hand, it’s important to remember that much like on the sports field, you cannot ignore a media or reputation issue – in fact you should train for it.
Ensure you take time regularly to assess any potential issues, and once you have a clear understanding of the potential crisis at hand, start implementing your crisis communications plan.
2. Train your talent
Ever wondered how Sam Kerr or Lachie Neale always manage to find the right answer to the tough questions?
It’s because they are media trained.
Whether it’s the star goal kicker or your organisation’s CEO, media training gives talent the confidence to convey their key message and the skills to navigate even the toughest of questions.
Media training offers key spokespeople an opportunity to learn the best tips and tricks to nailing their next interview and provides a valuable forum in which to practice their key messages before they are in front of a TV camera or audio recording device.
It’s not always possible to guarantee what questions a journalist might ask, particularly in a live environment, but media training offers peace of mind that your talent can deal with tricky questioning and can hit their key messages comfortably and confidently.
3. Media relationships are critical
Building strong relationships with key journalists is one of the most important aspects of any communications professional’s role.
Media-PR relations are a two-way partnership that requires nurturing and open communication to get the best results for all parties.
Whether it’s getting a good-news story over the line, having the confidence to put up new talent, negotiating a less-than-favourable narrative or getting THAT story over the line, communications professionals will have much more confidence to act in the best interests of their talent if they have strong media relations.
Need a communications professional on your team?
BBS is a trusted public relations company which has worked with clients across Australia to provide crisis communications, media training, and media and public relations services for more than 35 years. Contact us today for a confidential discussion about your business’ needs.
